


12 Dates of Christmas

by Firetamer30



Series: Noel and Christmas [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:20:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28354587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firetamer30/pseuds/Firetamer30
Summary: Having gotten a gift everyday from the first of December to the twenty fifth of December, he wanted to repay his, now, girlfriend with something of equal value. Which is not something that he could get from a store.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Noel and Christmas [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076507
Comments: 13
Kudos: 30





	1. December 26th

December 26th

After practicing his piano for a few hours, just to satisfy Nathalie, Adrien was now getting ready to meet up with Marinette. He knew she still had her uncle at the bakery and that most mornings to afternoon were busy. So he made sure to have everything set for after the lunch rush.

“Is this all part of that ‘12 days of Christmas’ plan you’ve been working on?” Plagg asked as he floated next to Adrien, who was busy grabbing a warm sweater. He needed a sweater to keep him warm but not be bulky.

“Yes it is, Plagg.” the teen said cheerfully. Holding up a black sweater he checked the inside and nodded. Throwing it over his head he slid it on before grabbing his bag and heading for the door. “Now come on. Gorilla is waiting for us outside.”

“You’re really not going to tell me this master plan of yours?” Plagg asked as he flew over and stopped just outside his new favorite pocket.

“No. Now come on. I don’t want to be late.” he said nearly pushing the kwami into the pocket.

“Okay, okay. When did you start being so pushy?” he asked flying into the pocket.

“Sorry. I just want to get to Mari, is all.” He explained sheepishly.

“Whatever you say, Casanova.” Plagg teased.

The teen shook his head lightly before making his way to the front doors. He thankfully wasn’t stopped by Nathalie on his way out and quickly hopped in the car. What he didn’t know, was that his father was watching him leave, from his window in the Atrium.

~

“He seems very happy.” Nathalie noted as she watched from behind him.

“He would be even happier with his mother here.” Gabriel said as the metal gates closed after the car. “Though, dinner with the Dupain-Cheng’s was rather, interesting. It showed me that this girl, my son has come to care for, sees my son as a person and not the name he has. She is a very rare find. If I recall, I nearly akumatized her some time ago.”

“That is correct sir. It was with Lila Rossa’s help that got the girl upset enough that we tried to akumatize many people, but because of my weakness, we were unsuccessful.” Nathalie agreed.

“It is not your fault. The peacock miraculous is damaged. But if I had succeeded in akumatizing her, She truly could have brought me the two miraculous that I need.” he sighed as he turned from the window. But I promised myself that I wouldn’t do anything to upset my son. I can’t akumatize her, and that also means that I can’t have Ms. Rossa upsetting her either.” he commented.

“For whatever reason, Ms. Rossa seems to have it out for Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Do you truly think it wise to allow her any where near Ms. Dupain-Cheng?” Nathalie asked.

“I can’t do anything about the school, But I have already made it clear that she isn’t to do photo shoots with my son. Unless it is absolutely necessary, and even then I probably won’t allow it.” he said finally.

“Of course, sir. I do have one question that is sure to come up in the future. Would you permit Ms. Dupain-Cheng to accompany Adrien to a photo shoot from time to time?” She asked. It was more for Adrien’s benefit than anything.

“Not all, but she can attend if it happens to be a short session or if he is free after the shoot.” Gabriel said as he made it to his platform desk. “Now if you will excuse me, I need to get a few things finished before the new year. First thing is scheduling a photo shoot with the spring line. This of course will be in the studios, not out in Paris.” he stated as he looked through his files.

“Of course sir.” Nathalie said in agreement, noting it in her tablet to be taken care of first thing.

~With Adrien~

The car stopped outside the bakery and Adrien nearly hopped out of the car when it stopped. “Be right back.” He told Gorilla. The man grunted in understanding. Once the boy was inside he gave a small smile but quickly hid the look from view, he had a reputation after all.

Hearing the bell go off, Tom looked up to see Adrien walk in. “Good afternoon Adrien. Marinette is just getting her shoes. She’ll be right down.” he explained cheerfully.

“Thanks M… Tom.” Adrien corrected himself.

“Not a problem, son.” 

Adrien could feel that warm glow building in his chest at the way Mr. Dupain called him ‘son’. It really did feel like he was part of the family.

“Sorry Adrien.” Marinette called as she slipped her second shoe on and greeted him on the other side of the counter. “I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“Just got here. Ready to go?” he asked with a large grin.

“Absolutely.” she turned and waved good bye to her father. “Bye Papa. I’ll be back in time for dinner.” she assured him.

“Bye Mr. Dupain.” Adrien called as he held the door open for Marinette.

“Have fun kids.” he called just before the door shut. “He is going to be a very good son-in-law.” he muttered to himself.

Once the two were in the car and were headed for their destination, Marinette turned to him. “So where are we going?” she asked excitedly.

He gave her a lop sided grin before answering. “It’s a surprise.” 

Leaning back, she folded her arms and pouted. “Boo.” She knew he wouldn’t tell her with that look on his face.

He leaned over and whispered into her ear. “Bug-a-boo.” He kissed her cheek quickly before sitting up again and smiling triumphantly. Marinette’s face was beat red as she tried to look at anything other than him. 

“I’ve told you to stop calling me that.” she whined. It just made his grin grow wider.

“I am never getting rid of that nickname. Though it will be used in the appropriate atmosphere.” He hinted at her. 

She groaned for a moment before sighing. “Fine. Not like my complaining has stopped you before.” she muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

“You’re right.” he said leaning closer. “It hasn’t stopped me before.”

She grinned back at him. Something about his smile was just infectious. “No, it hasn’t. Doesn’t mean it won’t one day.” she booped his nose as she spoke making them both laugh. 

The car stopped and the unlocking of doors could be heard. “We’re here. Come on.” he said getting out and holding his hand out for her to help her out.

Taking his hand, she stepped out of the car and looked to see, “The ice rink?” she questioned.

“Yes, but with a little twist.” He said holding up a key with a grin.

“A key?” she looked from the key to the rink. “No.” she said surprised.

“All ours. Philippe Candeloro was nice enough to let me have the rink for about two hours. I was willing to pay for the time, but he said that because of my post, he was able to keep the rink open. So, he let me have the two hours in thanks.” he explained.

“I remember that day.” Marinette muttered as an image of Adrien and Kagami skating together passed in her mind. “H-how is Kagami?” she asked as he opened the door.

He blinked at her for a moment before looking at her a little confused. “She’s good, I suppose. She’s in Japan with her family for the holidays.”

“That’s… nice.” she said as they walked in and Adrien turned on the lights.

“I’ll grab us skates. What size are you?” he asked as he slowly headed to the rental area. 

She called her shoe size and placed her bag on one of the chairs. It really was a very sweet sentiment to bring her here. But all she could see when she looked at the rink, was Adrien dancing with Kagami. She was startled out of her thoughts when Adrien returned with the skates. “Thank you.” she said giving him a small smile when she took the skates.

He noticed the look of fake joy on her face, but was unsure if he should mention it. He had chosen ice skating first because he remembered her saying, ‘No better way to break the ice than at the ice rink.’ But maybe it was a bad idea.

“I remember you saying that you wanted to come back here again sometime. But if you would rather we do something else…” he said only for Marinette to look at him wide eyed.

“Oh, no. Adrien. I love that you thought of the ice rink. This is wonderful.” she told him honestly.

H e looked at her for a moment. “I sense a ‘but’.” he said raising an eyebrow.

“But, it’s also where you took Kagami on your first date with her.” she said

He blinked. “I won’t have called that a date.” he said rubbing the back of his head.

“Huh? Then what would you call it?” she asked.

“A trial run?” he shrugged. “I spent more time talking to you and fighting the akuma than talking to Kagami.” he paused for a moment. “Unknowingly, more time talking to just you.” he admitted sheepishly. “When you left after slamming into the wall, I followed you. Plagg kind of scolded me for a few reasons. And in the end he ended up being kind of right.”

“Of course I was right!” Plagg said as he peaked out from his pocket. “You left Kagami and went after another girl. That is a clear indication on who you are really interested in.”

“It’s true.” Tikki said, poking out of the purse. “When a guy chases after a girl, it usually means that that girl means a lot to him.”

“I get it, you two.” He said standing once his skates were on and tied. “I was a complete idiot.” he admitted. “But today, we change that.” he said holding out his hand for her.

Smiling she took his offered hand and they headed towards the ice. “Ready?” he asked with a grin.

“Yeah.” they did a lap or two to warm up but as they passed the entrance to the rink.

“Hold on tight.” he said pulling her closer.

“Okay?” she questioned.

A moment later the music started playing ‘Once Upon A Dream’ from a Disney classic. Marinette couldn’t help but smile as the song played. Her prince was definitely one of a kind. As the song turned into a duet, she felt her body move closer to him. “Are you having fun?” he asked innocently.

“This is wonderful.” she said, her smile being the only other reassuring feature he could see.

The two continued to Dance ans skate for the remaining hour and a half, before Philippe walked in and informed them that their time was nearly up. Looking at his watch, Adrien was shocked. “He’s right. It’s nearly sixteen hundred hours. I must have lost track of time.”

“It is okay, Adrien.” Philippe said, coming up to them as the came to the stands and sat down to take off their skates. “Any one would be distracted, when dancing or skating with such a beautiful, young lady with you.”

“Thanks again for allowing us to borrow the rink.” Adrien said.

“It was no problem. Any time, my rink is open to you two.”

“Thank you. Have a nice day.” they said before handing in their skates and heading to the door.

It didn’t take long to get back to the bakery or to drop her off at the side door. He smiled at her before asking. “May I?” he asked, a thumb rubbing against her cheek. With a small nod he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. It was short and sweet, but it held a lot more meaning than any normal kiss would.

Pulling away was always the hardest. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Princess.” he said, before squeezing her hands and walking back to the car.

It was a productive day in his opinion. He got to dance with his girlfriend, and he got a kiss. The only thing that was better than the date, was that if Hawkmoth surrendered the miraculous he held. But that was highly unlikely. Now he just had to wait for tomorrow.


	2. December 27th

December 27th

Marinette spent most of the morning with her uncle. His flight back to China was early the next morning. She was going out with Adrien later and she wouldn’t be up to see him off. So she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible before he returned home.

“I’m really glad you could come for Noel, wei da de shu shu.” Marinette said, remembering the Mandarin words for great uncle. Adrien had helped her learn that one at least.

“Me too, Marinette. So glad you and Adrien are together. He nice boy. Lovely bracelet he give you. If we were back in China, he would be accepted by rest of family. You told friend’s already?” He asked in his broken but understandable English.

“Today. She assured him, fingering the charm bracelet on her wrist. “Most of our friend’s were busy during the holiday and slept most of yesterday. Adrien said he was picking me up at sixteen hundred hours and said we were meeting up with people.”

“Good. They will be very happy for you, Marinette.” he said with a smile. He finished rolling the pastry he was making and cut it into sections. “Try.” he said handing her one.

Marinette took the Banana cake roll from him and took a bite. Smiling at the Cinnamon swirl flavor, She turned to him. “This is delicious.”

“Will teach you recipe and you can have Adrien try yours as well.” he said happily.

“Yes, please.” she said excitedly. “Xie xie.”

“You are welcome.” he said before getting the ingredient out and showing her the process.

~Hours later~

Adrien arrived outside the bakery well before he was meant to pick Marinette up. He hadn’t told her who they were meeting up with. But he had a promise to keep and what better way to keep it than today? Not to mention his early arrival was also to say farewell to Cheng Shifu. The chef was returning to China early in the morning and he wouldn’t be able to say good-bye any other time.

Walking in he greeted Tom and Sabine. “Good afternoon.”

“Adrien, we weren’t expecting you for at least another half hour.” Sabine said with a grin.

“I wanted to wish Cheng Shifu a safe trip home. I wasn’t sure if I was going to see him when I dropped Marinette back home later.” he explained.

“That’s very sweet of you. Thank you Adrien. They’re upstairs. Go on and head up.” Sabine said indicating to the back door.

“Thank you, Sabine.” he said, still slightly hesitant with calling her by her first name. Making his way through the back door, he went up to the living room section of the apartment where he found Marinette and Cheng Shifu laughing about something while making separate rolls of something. “What smells so good?”

“Adrien, you’re early.” Marinette greeted happily.

“I wanted to stop in and wish Cheng Shifu a safe flight.” he said before turning to Cheng. “It was great to see you again, Cheng Shifu.”

“It was good see you too, Adrien. Before I go, I want you try something.” He said as he chopped both rolls into sections and placed them on a plate. “You try bite of each, see which is better.”

He looked at both before looking up with a confused look on his face. “Who made which?”

“Tell after you try.” he insisted.

“Okay. No hard feelings for which ever one I don’t pick.” he said before picking up the one on the right. Taking a bite he nodded before swallowing. “That’s really good. What are these called?”

“Banana cake rolls.” Marinette said excitedly. “Great Uncle Cheng showed me how to make them.”

“How cool.” He picked the one on the left up and took a bite. Mid chew he stopped and looked at it. His eyes almost popped out of his head before he continued chewing and swallowed. “Winner.” he said before taking another bite and enjoying every second of it.

Cheng started to laugh and patted Marinette on the head. “You right.” he said gaining Adrien’s attention. “He love Passion fruit.”

“You made these Marinette?” he asked in awe. She nodded before she swooped in and kissed her cheek. “These are fantastic.” he quickly turned to Cheng Shifu before amending. “Not to say yours aren’t, Shifu. Yours are great, but I do love passion fruit. In any kind of pastry. It’s one of the few sweets I can have and still stick to my father’s diet plan for me.” he explained.

“It okay, Adrien. Marinette explained that hers would win. Said Passion fruit was key.” he assured the teen.

“She was right.” Adrien said with a smile. “As always.” he gave her a wink and made her blush in return.

“W-We should get going. We don’t want to be late meeting up with our friends.” she said as he grabbed her jacket and purse. “Thank you for everything Uncle Cheng. See you tonight.” she said before taking Adrien by the hand and dragging him out the door. But not before he grabbed a hand full more of the passion fruit banana cake rolls. “Have a safe trip, Cheng Shifu. I hope to see you again soon.” he called as he was pulled out the door.

“You as well, Adrien.: Cheng called after him before they were down the stairs.

Once out the door of the bakery, he helped her into the car and they were off to the next location. Adrien was still enjoying the banana rolls, and Marinette could help but giggle a little at him. “If you like them that much, I’ll make you more later.”

“Thank you. I would love that.” he said as he finished off another piece.

“You’re welcome.” she looked out the window and tried to stay positive. “So where are you taking me today?”

“To meet some friends and then go somewhere.” he said cryptically. 

She eyed him as he stayed facing forward. “That is what you told me on the phone last night.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll like it.” he promised her.

Before she could say more the car had stopped and as the back doors unlocked, Adrien got out and helped Marinette out. As she looked at where they were a wide smile came to her face. “Alya! Nino!” she called happily. “How was your Noel?”

“The girls went on about what they got and which one had the better toy, so on and so forth. I am so glad to be out of the house.” Alya praised. “What are you doing here? And with Adrien.

Said boy turned to his best friend. “You didn’t tell her we were coming?”

Nino shrugged. “If I told her, she would call Marinette, and the surprise would be ruined.” Nino explained.

“Gotcha.” Adrien said in understanding before facing the two girls that were looking at him a little confused. “Alya, Nino.” he started. “I asked you to meet Marinette and I here because I wanted you two, our best friends, to know first out of all of our friends. Marinette and I are dating.”

It was quiet for a few minute before Alya cheered almost right in Marinette’s ear. “Yes! Took you long enough girl!” She pulled the girl closer and whispered into her ear. “Give me all the deets later.” Marinette nodded before she was let go.

“So this is us on a double date?” Nino asked as he indicated to the four of them.

“Yup. Double date as promised.”

“Awesome dude. Thank you.” Nino said gratefully.

“Any time dude.” he then turned to the girls. “Are we ready to go in and see the movie?” 

The girls nodded and followed the boys inside. After getting a few snacks from the concession stand, they took their seats with the girls next to each other and the boys next to their respective girlfriends. Behind their heads the boys fist bumped just before the movie started.


	3. December 28th

December 28th

Marinette woke slowly that morning. She wasn’t needed, immediately, in the bakery that morning so she was allowed to sleep in. Her parents weren’t opening the store until nine anyway. Mostly because they had to drive Great Uncle Cheng to the airport, to catch his flight. So she was able to sleep in a little. 

As she rolled over in bed, she couldn’t help thinking about the day before. Adrien had taken her on a date to the movies. And not just any date, a double date with their best friends. After the movie, she was able to gush to Alya about Adrien and his father coming to her house for Noel dinner and the bracelet Adrien had gotten her.

Alya had a million questions of course, so on the way to Starbucks, the girls chatted and the guys walked behind them laughing at jokes and the antics of their girlfriends. They ended up at the park, and talked about how their Noel had gone and what their plans were for new years celebration. When Alya had asked Adrien what he was planning, he had answered with, “It’s a surprise.” and a grin to match.

They had parted shortly after that and the girls had promised to meet up later that week before the new year. Adrien took her home and they shared a short kiss before a horn from his driver interrupted them. He had mentioned seeing her the next afternoon before he got in the car and left.

As she stretched and sat up, she felt something fall from her blankets. Looking down at her lap, she moved the covers and found two small boxes. Confused, she picked them up and found a small note attached to one of them. Opening it she saw that Adrien had written it.

_‘Morning Bugaboo. I meant to give one of these to you yesterday but you surprised me with those delicious pastries. So I decided to drop it off with the one for today. You went to all the trouble of giving me gifts up to Noel. Including your wonderful tree and ornaments, which I will be returning to you later this week. So, I have decided to return the favor in kind, sort of. On the first day of Christmas a man gave his love a partridge in a pear tree. I can’t give you birds so I gave you not just a charm bracelet, but two charms as well. The bracelet and ladybug are one, while the black cat is your partridge. The second day of Christmas, a man gave his love Two turtle doves. Open to see what I gave you instead.’_

She looked at the note. “Is he seriously giving me a gift for the twelve days of Christmas?” she questioned before pulling on the paper and pulling out a small box. “He better not shower me in gifts.”  
She half heart-ed-ly pouted.

“Like how you showered him in twenty five gifts?” Tikki teased.

“No. I mean…” Marinette blushed before opening the box and finding a small pendent of the black yin symbol on a silver chain. “Oh.” she took it out and admired it. The white ‘good’ inside was a diamond. Something that was far more expensive than it looked. “Tikki, is this for real?” she asked looking from the pendent to her kwami.

“If you mean Adrien stopping by last night and asking me to bring these inside to you. Then Yes. If you’re asking if the diamond as the dot of ‘good’ is real, that is also a yes. I’ve been around many different ladybugs to be able to tell the difference between real and fake.” she assured her confidently.

“But it’s so much.” she said before noticing another note in the box under the pendent. Taking it out she read it.

_‘Nothing it too much for you Princess. You got the yin symbol, not because of it meaning female, but because it is me. You will always have a piece of me with you. And just so you know, I have the other half on a leather bracelet. I didn’t think my father would appreciate me wearing necklaces. So the two turtle doves are replaced with a silver necklace of yin. On the third day of Christmas, a man gave his love, Three French hens. I don’t know why everyone is all about birds, I hate feathers. Or rather feathers hate me. Open the next box and see what you got this time.’_

With a sigh. Marinette opened the next one and found a barrette that had stones in the shape of a flower that looked a lot like the one that she has on her bag. The stones were diamonds and pink zircons. She was too stunned for words. It took Tikki going into the box and pulling out the next note.

_‘I know you only ware pigtails, but on the rare occasion, you have worn it down or in a different up-do/ I can’t wait to see what you can do with your hair with this barrette. I will see you at noon. Though I will probably be a bit early.’_

Looking at the clock, Marinette squeaked before rushing out of bed and down her stairs, tripping on the last step as usual before grabbing some clothes and heading for the shower. “It’s already ten thirty, and I still need a shower and to get ready.”she cried, running down the other set of stairs and making it to the bathroom.

~Bakery~

Sabine handed the costumer their change and bag of goods before wishing them a good day. As they left Adrien walked through the door with a smile. “Afternoon, M… I mean, Sabine. Hello… Tom.” he said shyly.

“Good afternoon, Adrien.” they called happily.

“Marinette should be down in a moment. Last time I checked on her, she was doing her hair.” Sabine explained.

Just as she finished saying that, Marinette walked through the door with a smile. She was in casual clothes since Adrien hadn’t specified what they would be doing. “I’m ready when you are, Adrien.” she said before turning to her parents. “Bye Mom, Dad. I’ll be back before dinner.” she called as she nearly pushed Adrien out the door.

Adrien allowed himself to be dragged a few meters down the road before stopping. “Princess, you don’t even know where we’re going and you passed the car.”

Marinette blushed at this before walking back over to the car. She waited for Adrien to open the door before getting inside. It didn’t take them long to arrive where they were going. Stepping out of the car, Marinette smiled at their destination before giggling. “Okay, this was a good choice. I remember Nino tried to get my help with Alya once. We were supposed to be going together but you never showed. And then Animan attacked.

Adrien scowled at that last part. “Yeah, but that’s all in the past and we are together, now. That’s all that matters.” he said squeezing her hand with his.

“Yeah.” Marinette agreed.

They took a nice walk through the zoo and saw all kinds of different animals. From monkeys, to giraffes. Rhinos and elephants too. “These guys are awesome, when we’re not chasing them all over the city.” Adrien whispered to his girlfriend.

She nodded and was about to comment when a voice gained their attention. “Adrien, Marinette?” Kim said as he and Max came around the corner from the panther exhibit and spotted them. “What are you two doing here?”

“On a nice stroll through the zoo.” Adrien said as he squeezed Marinette’s hand gently.

“Is that all this is? It looks more like a date to me.” Max said as he adjusted his glasses.

“You would be right Max.” Marinette grinned happily.

The two looked at the couple for a moment before Kim cheered. “Yes!” then he paused. “Wait, when did you two get together? Officially?”

“Noel.” they said together.

“Awe Man!” Kim groaned. The couple gave him a weird look that he didn’t notice. “That means Mylene won the bet.”

“What bet?” Adrien asked, sounding both curious and a hint angry.

“Oh! Would you look at the time!” Max said looking at his watch and looking surprised. “Come on Kim! We’re going to be late for that thing!” He said before pushing Kim along and on to another path. “Nice seeing you, have fun on your date. See you later.” Max managed to get out while pushing a confused Kim down the path.

“He has amazing strength for being slightly shorter than Kim.” Adrien commented. Still a little upset about the betting behind his back about his love life.

“I’ll interrogate Alya when I see her later this week.” Marinette promised. “We might even get a commission for it. It is our love life after all.”

“I love the way you think. And I know you are going to love what I have planned for tomorrow too.” he said with a grin as they turned the corner to see the panthers. 

“I can’t wait.” She said with a smile. “But please no more expensive gifts.”

“I make no such promises, Princess.” he said kissing her forehead lovingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize that these are getting up so late. My job is crazy right now and I've been staying up past midnight to finish each chapter. My day off is coming up soon, so I should have plenty of time to write out a few chapters.


	4. December 29th

December 29th

Adrien went down the stairs that morning to see Nathalie standing next to the doors of the dining room, waiting for him. “Morning Nathalie. No time to talk.” He said walking past her, picking up the glass of juice before downing it and walking past her again. “Practicing Piano until my Mandarin tutor arrives.” he announce as he went back up the stairs and closed his door behind him.

Nathalie blinked a few times before looking down at her tablet to double check that it was what he had to do that day. Low and behold, he had Piano until ten and then his Mandarin teacher arrived at ten fifteen. Adrien was then free of any obligations after he had lunch at noon. Shaking her head, she picked up the uneaten plate and brought it back to the kitchen before going about her normal duties.

As she made it out of the kitchen once more, she could hear Adrien playing. She recognized the song as ‘River Flows In You’ by Yiruma. Except there was a certain feeling behind this song today. Almost like he was expressing his joy through this song. She had paused at the bottom of the stair to listen for a moment but apparently, she was not the only one. Gabriel had stepped out of his Atrium to investigate. He saw Nathalie standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking up at his son’s room. “Nathalie.” he called.

“Yes, sir?” she asked, coming to attention at the call of her name.

“Go and be sure that is Adrien playing and not his phone again.” Gabriel said, remembering the time his son had gone missing and had left his phone playing a piano piece though his speakers.

“Of course, sir.” Nathalie said before making her way up the stairs to Adrien’s room. Stopping at the door she quietly opened it to see Adrien sitting at the piano, playing his posture was straight but the way he was playing was joyous and less robotic or restrictive. What ever he was thinking of while playing this song, made him truly happy, and it showed. Closing the door as the song was starting to slow to an end, she went back down and nodded to her boss. “It’s Adrien playing.” she said as the music ended for a moment. They waited to hear a second song play. This one being, ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ by Tchaikovsky. From the holiday play, ‘The Nutcracker’. 

The two adults raised an eyebrow at the choice before turning away from it. “Look into the staff of ‘The Nutcracker’. See if any of them are in danger of being replaced or if any are under a lot of stress. It’s hard to find someone with negative emotions this time of year.” Gabriel said before walking back into the Atrium to continue his work.

“Right away, sir.” she said before walking back to her desk. She knew it was going to be a very long day.

~That afternoon~

Adrien arrived at Marinette’s with a grin on his face. He had aced his pop quiz from his Mandarin teacher and was told he didn’t have any more lessons until the fifth of January. Meaning he didn’t have lessons until he went back to school. That left only piano and that was an easy thing to do. He could probably do it in his sleep. 

Walking into the shop he greeted his girlfriend’s parents and told them that they were going to hang out upstairs and play video games. Tom had wanted to join them, but Sabine had reminded him that they had orders to fill. Adrien laughed lightly at Mr. Dupain’s sad face before assuring him he would try to beat Marinette in Ultimate Mecha strike for him. He got a “That’s my boy.” from Tom before the man had to get back to making what ever treat or dessert that was needed.

Shaking his head happily, he walked up the stairs and found Marinette with Tikki at her desk. She was really focused on something so he sat on her chaise and picked up one of the magazines that she had near by. Plagg on the other hand zoomed over to Tikki and tackled her to the other end of the desk and out of view of Marinette. 

Adrien gave Plagg a grin and thumbs up before placing the magazine down and quietly walking over to his girlfriend. He pulled out the wrapped box and placed it on the desk. It was out of Marinette’s reach. Mostly so that she didn’t damage what was inside when she became startled. Leaning close to her ear she waited until she tied the string of and cut it before whispering into her ear. “You look so cute when your concentrating on something.”

Marinette jumped at the sudden closeness and voice next to her ear. Spinning around she saw the sly grin on her boyfriend’s face. “Adrien! That is not funny! What if I still had the scissors in my hand? I could have hurt you.”

“First of all, the only way you could hurt me Princess, is if you break my heart. And second, I’ve been her a little while. I knew when would be the right time to announce my presence.” he teased.

“Tikki was supposed to tell me when you got here.” Marinette pouted as she looked around for her little friend.

“And that is why she is being held by Plagg.” he said pointing out that Tikki was at the other end of the desk and struggling in the black cat’s arms.

She looked from the kwamis, back to her boyfriend. “Well, now that you have had your laugh, Let me get my coat and we can go where ever you have planned for today.”

“No coat needed, M’Lady. All we are doing is staying in and playing some video games.” Adrien said confidently.

She gave him a confused look. “You finally get the chance to get away from four walls, and now you want to be surrounded by four new ones?” she asked.

“There’s is a difference. The old four walls, I was by myself. These four walls have three wonderful people that I care about. One more than all the others.”

She blushed at this. “But you’re sure you want video games?” she asked trying to hide an evil grin.

“I have to words that will show I am very serious.” Adrien said, noticing the kwamis going towards the living room. “Gamer 2.0.” he said, folding his arms in front of his chest.

Marinette paled at the thought of that day. She grabbed a near by pillow and proceeded to hit Adrien with it. “Never do something stupid like that again!”

All the blonde could do was shield his head from any direct hits. “You know as well as I do, that you are the only one that can fix everything.” As she raised her arm to hit him again, he grabbed her wrist to stop her. “Besides, you are far better at games than I am. And that is coming from a guy that plays when there is nothing else to do. That includes any and all work involving learning.”

“But you are always sacrificing yourself for me!” She yelled at him, tears starting to form in her eyes.

He pulled her into a tight hug and whispered sweet nothings in her ear before stating the truth. “But that’s how it works. We have had a lot of close called. Animan, Gamer times two, Oblivio.” The last one made her laugh a little.

“I don’t know if that one counts. But I do know that Dark Cupid, Style Queen, and Timebreaker count.” she said squeezing him slightly.

He looked down at her a little confused. “I don’t remember getting hit by Timbreaker.”

She hesitated for a moment before explaining. “I had tried to pull Timebreaker towards the ground, throw her off balance to get to her skate, and instead she pulled harder and sent me to the ground instead. As I was getting up she was reaching out to touch me and then…” she paused as she rubbed her head into his chest. “And then you stepped in front of me and got hit instead. You were fading away in my arms. But as I was holding your fading body, Timbreaker was laughing about how your energy gave her six minutes. Enough to let her go back in time. I was dragged behind her in the trip back. That’s why there was two of me.”

He didn’t answer, but he held her closer to him in reassurance. “But I’m still here. And now we are together. Stronger together. You and me against the world.” he said earning a grin. After a few more minutes of hugging. Adrien pointed to the gift on the table. “Now, why don’t you open your gift.”

Looking up at him, she was a bit confused. “What gift?”

Adrien just pointed back at her desk where the small box sat. Just waiting for her to open it. “Adrien.” she said when she noticed it. “You didn’t have to.”

“All is far in love and war, Princess.” he said with a grin. “I’m just finishing what you started.”

Gently swatting his stomach, she walked over and opened the wrapped box. Inside was a sphere ornament with Nino and Alya on one side and her and Adrien on the other. “When did you?”

“I had Nino help me with that one when we all went shopping for your parents’ gifts. He got a photo of us while we were busy and then sent me both pictures. He assured me he had plenty of him and Alya, so I wasn’t too worried about that. But this way, you have another ornament for your tree and it can represent friends, and becoming more.”

she grinned before putting it back in the box for safe keeping. “Thank you. I love it.” She kissed his cheek before heading for the stairs. “Now, are you ready to get beat in Ultimate Mecha Strike III?”

“You wish.” he said following her down.


	5. December 30th

December 30th

It was early evening when Adrien picked Marinette up. He was dressed in the suit she had made for him, minus the vest and tie, and had a rose in hand. Tonight he had a surprise for her, one he hoped she would love.

Standing outside the door to the apartment, Plagg popped out of the inside of his jacket. “You really want to take her there kid? Think she’s ready for your high style life?” Plagg asked skeptically.

“Well now is a good time to find out, isn’t it?” Adrien said confidently.

“Don’t come crawling to me when it crashes and burns.” Plagg said tucking himself back inside the jacket.

“I will because if anything crashes and burns, it would be due to an akuma or your cataclysm.” he said pointedly.

“Think I jinxed it?” Plagg asked quietly.

“I sure hope you didn’t.” He muttered before knocking on the door. He only had to wait a moment before the door opened and Tom met him at the door. “Good afternoon, Tom.” he said, kind of used to the name thing now. He had been working on it all week after all.

“Hello Adrien. Come on in.” he said welcoming the boy. “Marinette should be down in a few minutes. Getting ready to go back to school in a few days?” he asked.

“A little. The only thing I’m worried about is Chloe and Lila not being happy that Marinette and I are dating.” he said sheepishly.

“Never did like that Chloe girl.” Tom saw the look on Adrien’s face before amending his comment. “Don’t get me wrong. Everyone has things in their lives that they have to deal with, but Chloe was spoiled rotten. She can’t do one thing for herself. When Marinette was younger and the girls had just met, Chloe pretended to be nice to Marinette to copy answers off of her, for homework. Marinette didn’t want to be called a cheat and asked Chloe to stop but that just led to a big argument about Marinette being called names while Chloe threatened to call her a liar and cheat to the entire school. Safe to say those two were never on the same level. Chloe would belittle my girl and make her feel like she didn’t really have anyone. Then just last year, she met Alya and Marinette came back out of her shell. She about sprang back to being the little girl I know was confident and head strong. In this aspect, I don’t like Chloe. But, that doesn’t mean she is a hopeless case. She needs to learn some humility and respect for others, but she isn’t hopeless.”

“So that’s what happened.” Adrien muttered while nodding. “I’ve known Chloe since she and I were toddlers. Our mothers knew each other.” he said, seeing the concerned look on Tom’s face. “She was my only friend until last year when I met Nino, Marinette, and Alya. As well as all the rest of our friends.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that you gained better friends than the one you had before.” Tom said patting him on the back.

Adrien smiled politely before a noise on the stairs gained his attention. Turning, he saw Marinette coming down the stairs in an ankle length, red dress. This one had short sleeves and was pulled in the back by black ties that formed into a bow. On her feet, were black dress shoes that didn’t have much of a heel. This made it easier for Marinette to walk in and not trip. But he wasn’t impressed with the dress so much as the girl that was wearing it. Marinette had her hair back in a single ponytail with pieces on the sides to frame her face and a some lip gloss on her lips to make them shine. “Wow.” he said quietly but Tom still heard him and gave a small chuckle. Adrien’s ears went red at being caught before he met his girlfriend at the bottom of the stairs. “You look amazing Marinette.” He said offering her the rose.

“Thank you Adrien.” she took the rose in one hand and took his still extended hand with the other.

“Remember to have her back by twenty two hundred hours. It may not be a school night but we do open up early in the morning.” Tom reminded them.

“We know, Papa.” Marinette said, trying not to be annoyed when her father had a valid point but it still meant leaving Adrien sooner than she wanted to.

“I’ll have her home before curfew. No need to worry.” he assured the respectably protective father.

“Have fun you two.” Sabine called from the couch. She was watching her only show that she was addicted to.

“We will.” they called back.

“Love you, Mom, Dad.” Marinette said before closing the door behind her. They made it to the car and were on their way to their destination before Marinette noticed Adrien being rather quiet. “Is something wrong?” she asked quietly.

He looked over at her and smiled. “No, not really. I was just thinking about something you said.” he explained trying to give her a convincing smile but she wasn’t buying it.

“What did I say?” she asked, trying to keep any panic from her voice.

He looked to the floor for a moment before leaning back in his seat. “You told your parent’s you love them.” seeing her confused face he continued. “I don’t remember the last time I told my father I loved him. Or when he last said it to me. No near disaster to make him say it either. Just…” he trailed off before he felt Marinette grip his hand and pull it toward her.

“Your father may not say it, Adrien. But he doesn’t seem like my parents with their hearts on their sleeves. He’s been hurt, like you have. You’re mother is missing and your father, who is in control of a lot of things, has no control over that. His wife is out there somewhere and he can’t seem to do anything to find her. Imagine if you were in his shoes, and I was the one missing. What would you do?” She asked quietly.

“I would move heaven and earth to find you again.” he said taking her hand with his as he pulled it back and her hand came up to his lips. “The difference between my father and I, isn’t just personality. I wouldn’t lock myself away like he has. I would be out there, looking for you. My father had me to think about and his business. I don’t have either of those. I wouldn’t stop until I found you again.”

“Even if it meant breaking the law?” she asked seriously.

He paused and looked at her for a moment before answering truthfully. “No.”

“Adrien.” she sighed sadly.

“I wouldn’t. It would cross my mind and I would be tempted. But I know in my heart I couldn’t. Not just because it’s wrong, but because you wouldn’t ever approve of such tactics. I would never want to disappoint you.” he kissed her knuckles once more before bringing her hand down to his lap, her hand held between his. “I don’t know if my father would go that far.”

“Let’s hope not.” she gave him a grin before they felt the car stop. 

“We’re here. Ready?” he asked, pulling her hand slightly.

“As ever.” She said.

The door opened and he stepped out before offering her his hand. Stepping out of the car, Marinette was a little shocked at where they were. The Palais Garnier, the famous opera house. “Well this explained why you wanted me to dress up.” she said as she looked at the historical building.

“Of course. If I didn’t, you would have fretted about being under dressed.” He teased.

“I would not.” she protested for a moment before continuing. “I would have hopped right back into the car and hope no one saw me.”

He chuckled at this before placing her hand on his forearm as he led her into the opera house. Once inside he smiled to her and they were escorted to a private booth. Gorilla had been instructed to accompany them inside, seeing how it was a very public place and no one wanted to deal with gossip leaking on the news about a model escorting someone to a famous ballet.

When they were seated Adrien held Marinette’s hand in his, between their seats. “I hope you like ‘The Nutcracker’.” Adrien told her with a grin.

Marinette’s face lit up. “Oh, I love it. Not to mention all of their costumes are absolutely gorgeous.”

He lifted her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles once more. “I’m glad.”

Before anything else could be said, the lights dimmed and the play was about to begin.


	6. December 31st

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this is so late! I will try to finish and post this before the end of the month. This was supposed to be done by the 6th of January, and it wasn't. I'm sorry.
> 
> Also, I have another Adrinette story called Family: Lost and Found. If you are interested in another take on the work aspect/situation of Adrien and his father. You are welcome to check it out. I am not forcing anyone to read it, but I will be posting another chapter for that story after I post this chapter.

December 31st

Two in the morning. 

Two in the freaking morning.

Didn’t Hawkmoth sleep?

Chat Noir and Ladybug found themselves looking down at the streets of Paris. There, standing at attention, were hundreds of Russian nutcracker soldiers. All dressed and armed. It did not look good for the heroes.

“M’Lady, wouldn’t it be a good idea to get some of the others involved for this one? We are greatly out-numbered.” Chat stated as he looked at all the green uniformed soldiers.

“We just have to find the commanding Nutcracker. The one in the red uniform.” Ladybug said trying to stay optimistic. “We can do that.”

“I know we can, but can we do that and avoid all of those soldiers guarding the captive?” he asked. He was talking about the dancer that played the sugar plum princess at the ballet that night. The one he had taken his partner to see and given her a new design book as her gift that night. The nutcracker didn’t seem to be the same one from the play. That one had been a boy a little older than them. This akuma victim seemed to be in their mid twenties. At least ten years older than the Nutcracker they had seen before.

“You want Rena to make an illusion so you can sneak behind and get the captive?” Ladybug asked. In reality, that would be a great idea. If she didn’t have to get past all of those soldiers to give Alya her Miraculous. 

“That would be a great plan.”

“If I could get to the owner of that Miraculous.” she agreed sadly.

Because they had been standing on the roof so long, the soldiers were able to acquire a cannon. They aimed it at the pair and shot at them. Chat jumped toward Ladybug and took her with him before she let loose her yo-yo and swung them to another roof and out of range.

“And now we need to hurry up and finish this before someone gets seriously hurt.” Ladybug said looking around for a way to get to the Nutcracker. She spotted an ally only a block away, were soldiers were not stationed, and saw a manhole cover. “I hate having to do this, but looks like underground is the only way, Kitty.”

“Why can’t it ever be easy to sneak up on the villain? We seriously need to talk later about how we can find Hawkmoth.” Chat told her before they headed for the sewer. 

After getting underground, it was rather easy to find their way to the Palais Garnier, where the Nutcracker was keeping the sugar plum princess. “You know the plan?” She asked as they made it through the side door and behind the guard nutcrackers.

“I know the plan. Just keep him talking.” He agreed before taking her hand to stop her. “Just remember to stay safe.”

“You worry too much.” she teased.

“Someone has to.” He teased back, before they separated to put their plan into motion. 

~Stage~

The nutcracker marched in front of the dancer before stopping in front of her. Unseen to the two, above them, Chat quietly crept along the cat walk until he was above the dancer.

“Please let me go. I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I told you why…” she was cut off by a soldier coming in.

“Sir! The enemy have some how broken through.”

The Nutcracker turned to him. “How?”

“It is unsure, sir.” he reported. “We’ve lost track of them upon entry.”

“Find them.” the Nutcracker ordered. The soldier saluted before exiting. The dancer spoke up after he was gone.

“You don’t have to do this!” she pleaded. “We’re friends, Ryan.”

“I am not Ryan!” the leader said walking up to her. “I am the Nutcracker.”

“I think you’re just a nut!” Ladybug called from one of the top private boxes.

“Ah, the enemy reveals herself.” Nutcracker said, turning to Ladybug. “Come down and fight, instead of hiding like the coward you are!”

“I showed myself, didn’t I? How does that make me a coward?” Ladybug said as she sat on the ledge of the balcony. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you to treat ladies with respect?”

“Don’t give me that.” Nutcracker yelled back at her before giving a rebuttal.

While those two were talking, Chat extended his staff and landed quietly next to the dancer before untying the ribbon that had her pinned to the sugar plum princess’ chair. Once she was free he wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted them back up to the cat walk. Slipping the small staff back into place on his back, he led the girl to the dressing rooms where she would be safe. “Stay here until it’s safe.” Getting a nod, he slipped back out of the room and back to the stage.

“You really think tying a girl up and forcing them to date you, is a good idea?” Ladybug called back at the akuma, calmly.

“You know, I don’t think any girl would be happy being forced into a relationship.” Chat said as he stood behind the nutcracker, staff at the ready.

“As I said, a coward. Sending others to fight your battles.” Nutcracker mocked as he took out his sword. “I will slay you as I did the mouse king. Then I will bring Hawkmoth your miraculous.” he declared before striking at Chat, who easily parried the attack.

While he was distracted, Ladybug swung down from the balcony to the orchestra seats and made her way behind the nutcracker. It was believed that the akuma was in the hat on his head, but they weren’t sure. She let loose her yo-yo and wrapped it around the hat, pulling it off of the nutcrackers head. Ripping it in half, there was no akuma.

“Pathetic, you don’t even know where my akuma is.” he laughed before kicking Chat Noir away and facing Ladybug. “You think you can best me with some silly trick. Distract me with your sidekick so you can attack from behind? Just like the coward you are.”

Ladybug stopped on the top of the front row. “There is so much wrong with what you just said. First and foremost, Chat Noir is not and will never be my sidekick! He is my partner. Second of all, he isn’t the distraction.” she said smugly to his confused face. “I am.”

as she spoke the last word, Chat struck the hand holding the sword with the bottom of his staff, as he extended it. The sword flew out of the nutcracker’s hand and right into Ladybugs. “No more evil-doing for you, little akuma.” she said, splitting the sword in half over her knee. A purple and black butterfly fluttering out of it. “Time to de-evilize.” swinging out her yo-yo, she caught the butterfly and purified it. “Gotcha. Bye-bye little butterfly.” 

Once the butterfly was gone, she saw Chat helping the man back to his feet. He was a little disoriented but otherwise, seemed to be alright. She left Chat to deal with the victim while she went off to the side and called for the lucky charm that would be used to return all the transformed soldiers back to normal. It was a pen that appeared before she threw it up into the air and called for the cure. She then headed to the back and checked all the rooms before coming across the one that the dancer was hiding in. “It’s alright to come out now. Your friend is back to normal.” she assured her.

“Thank you Ladybug. I think I should go talk to him. We have a lot to talk about, considering I kind of unintentional caused him to be upset and get akumatized.” She said sadly.

“No one is to blame for Hawkmoth’s doing. Everyone is entitled to feeling upset or angry. Hawkmoth just uses that to his advantage and the people pay for it.” Ladybug explained, placing a calming hand on the woman’s shoulder. 

“I know, but when you have to tell your best friend that you like someone else; after they tell you that they have liked you as more than a friend for a while. It isn’t exactly easy to face them or talk to them after that.” the dancer admitted.

“I’m sure if you explain things to him. He’ll understand. Besides, you don’t know how someone feels until you tell them. If you were to tell the other guy you like them and he turns you down, you will still have your friend. And knowing how he feels might help you see the world a little different, or not. Either way you will know only by working it out.” 

The woman smiled gratefully at her. “Thank you Ladybug. I better go help him home. I’ll talk to the other person later today and see how things go from there.”

“Best of luck.” She led her back to the stage where Chat was talking to the victim. “Time to go Chat.” she called. He waved to her before finishing what he was saying and saluting them both. They ran out the back doors and headed to the roofs before looking out at the city. Everytihng was back to normal and it was time to head back home.

“Hawkmoth needs to learn that there is a time and a place for akuma’s. It’s New Years eve. Couldn’t he wait until after midnight?” he whined.

“He probably thought he could get our miraculous before the new year.” she shrugged before yawning. “On that note, I am going home. I’ll see you later Chat.”

“Sleep well, Bugaboo.” he said before they headed off to their respective homes.

~Much later that day~

It was around ten when Marinette woke up next. She got ready for the day and went down to see if her parents needed her help in the bakery. Lucky for her, they didn’t so she went back up to her room and did some of her designs and started to work on an outfit for Alya’s birthday. It was a burnt auburn color with some lighter oranges that faded in. She was just putting it back on the mannequin when her phone rang. Not looking at the caller ID she answered. “Hello?”

“Good afternoon, beautiful. Did you sleep well after the crazy morning we had?” Adrien asked teasingly.

She laughed before answering. “I did. Did the handsome model get enough beauty sleep to satisfy the world and his father?” she teased back, knowing he had a commercial shoot scheduled for that afternoon.

“The new ad meets my father’s expectations.” he quoted before changing the subject. “In other news, I have the rest of the day free. I’m heading towards Nino’s for a guys afternoon but I want to remind you that I am picking you up at 21:00 tonight.”

“But Alya…” she was cut off by a text coming through. “Hold on.” she looked at the text and scowled slightly. 

_Alya: Hey girl. I know we were supposed to watch the fireworks tonight but Nino wanted to start the new year off with me. I hope you can understand. Its rare for him to go out of his way to be overly romantic._

Sighing she answered back.

_Mari: It’s fine Als. Adrien was just telling me the same thing, more or less. Probably this surprise he was hiding from us when you had asked a while back._

_Alya: Keep me updated! And have fun. See you in the new year._

_Mari: you too Alya._

She switched back to her call with Adrien and scowled slightly. “What did you tell Nino?” she accused. She could almost hear the fake gasp as he held a hand over his heart. 

“Princess, whatever do you mean? I wouldn’t dare tell Nino to make plans with Alya so I can spend a very romantic new years fireworks show with my girlfriend.” he said playfully.

She shook her head at his antics. It was such a Chat Noir thing of him to do. “Fine. 21:00, I will see you tonight.”

“See you then, Princess.” Adrien said before hanging up.

Marinette put her phone down before she continued working on the dress for Alya.

~Nino’s~

“Hey Dude.” Nino greeted as Adrien was let in. “Ready to get beat in some video games.”

“Afraid you are the one that is going down.” Adrien shot back with a grin. “Who has the game winning girlfriend again?”

“Don’t sell Alya short Dude. She hangs out with Marinette a lot and Alya and I have stacked up quite the number of gaming hours. I am ready for anything you dish out.”

~Three hours of gaming later~

“Dude.” Nino said from the floor. He had won all of five games in the fifty that they played, and it was mostly because Adrien felt bad after winning nine in a row each time.

“I did warn you Nino.” he said sympathetically. “I think you forgot to take into account all of the hours I have played at home, before coming to public school.”

“And now I have to face Alya.” Nino groaned.

Adrien looked at his watch before standing up. “Tell you what. I have some time before I have to get Marinette. Why don’t I treat you to something to eat before we have to get the girls.”

“If it’s your treat, I’m in.” they grabbed their coats and headed out to grab something to eat before meeting their girls for the evening. 

~Marinette’s~

She was just putting her coat on when the doorbell rang. “That’s Adrien.” she said before turning to her parents. “I’ll be home close to one in the morning.”

“Okay dear. Be safe.” Sabine called.

“I will.” she said. Before heading towards the door. “Love you. See you in the new year.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.” her father called. She closed the door to the living room before heading down the stairs and greeting Adrien at the door.

“Good evening, Princess.” He greeted. “Ready to go?” he offered his hand to her.

“As I’ll ever be.” she said before taking his offered hand.

Adrien led her toward the Eiffel Tower where they could see the fireworks best. “What did you work on while I was beating Nino in video games?”

“I was working on Alya’s birthday present.” 

“Oh, anything nice?”

“I’m not going to tell you.” she teased.

His jaw dropped slightly before a sly grin crossed his lips. “Don’t you trust me, Princess?”

“With my life, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you what I am making Alya for her birthday. No matter what Nino or Alya promise you.” she teased.

“You wound me, princess. I would never stoop so low as to be manipulated by bribery. Unless of course it was by you, or to protect you.” 

She stopped, making him do the same. Looking around she relaxed slightly, seeing that they were alone on the street. “That’s something we need to talk about. You can’t keep jumping in front of every attack that is coming at me. Half the time I end up having to fight you too.”

He looked to the side and thought about her words for a minute before giving her a reply. “I can’t promise I won’t jump in the way.” She was about to protest when he put a finger to her lips. “I can’t, princess. It’s not just because you mean everything to me.” he admitted with a blush. He leaned in a little closer in case they were being over heard. “You are the only one that can fix everything, you and that lucky charm. I can stop an akuma and destroy the butterfly, but I can’t change everything back to normal like you can. For everyone’s safety, I will take a hit if it means you have the time to make everything right.”

Marinette opened her mouth to argue, but the only thing that seemed to come out was a squeak. She couldn’t come up with a logical reason to stop him from ever getting hit. So instead she pulled him into a hug before speaking. “That doesn’t mean I’m okay with you taking the hit for me. You and me against the world, remember. We can’t do that if one of us… Disappears.”

Adrien wrapped her tighter in his arms. “I know. I will do my best to come up with other ways of avoiding either of us getting hit. I’ll only do so if it’s the last resort.” he promised.

“Thank you, Kitty.” they stood there for a few more minutes before she pulled away. She gave him a slight smile before they continued on their way to the Eiffel Tower. “You know, you have all these nicknames for me, but I only have one for you. It doesn’t seem fair.”

He just smiled at her for a moment. “I’m sure you will come up with a really creative name, M’Lady.” he said quietly.

“You are, huh?” she questioned.

“It will be ten times better than any name Hawkmoth will ever come up with when naming his victims.” he added confidently. This got a laugh out of Marinette, who could only nod in agreement.

~a while later~

The couple stood a fair ways away from the tower as they heard the announcers say that there was only five minutes until the new year. Adrien had an arm around Marinette as the smiled at the thought of a new year, full of time together. Whether it was fighting akuma victims, or just being in each others company. They would have an entire year together, and that was definitely something to look forward to.

As the announcement of a minute left, rang out. Adrien turned to his girlfriend. “Marinette.” he said.

He got her to turn to him as people were counting down from 30. “Yes, Adrien?” she asked.

“You really are, the most amazing person I have ever met. And considering I have met quite a few celebraties, that’s saying a lot.”

“15.”

“14.”

“13.”

“And I’m not just talking about the girl with the mask. It’s the girl behind it.”

“8.”

“7.”

“6.”

“5.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“4.”

“3.”

“Adrien Agreste.”

“2.”

“1.”

“I LOVE YOU!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Not Story Related~
> 
> I would like to take this moment to apologize to people in other nations. Yes, I am American. and i have never been more disgusted in my life to call myself that. Not everyone in America is like those people that rioted and barged into the Capital building. I am appalled at that behavior and never want to see ANYTHING like that happen again. The actions of those people made me feel unsafe to life in my own country. And I'm white. so this isn't just about me saying something like this because I'm black, I'm not. If something like this happened anywhere else, I would be scared there too. But to see that horrendous display in the heart of my country, it makes me fear the people around me. NOT THE GOVERNMENT, the people. The everyday people. 
> 
> I am sorry if me saying this on hear upsets you or believe that it doesn't belong here. You are probably right. But felt it needed to be said, not everyone where I live, act like disorganized monkeys.


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